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The loud booing of George Osborne at the Paralympics on Monday could prove far more significant for David Cameron than the cabinet reshuffle he staged a few hours later.

Even I received cheers during my Paralympic appearance on the same day, the prime minister cannot be deaf to the danger. (Can he?)

As the boos rang out, Osborne feigned an unconvincing sporting smile for the cameras. But in an age where facial appearances count for much in politics, it isn't merely his unconvincing smiles that present a serious handicap (along with his policies, of course).

It's the unfortunate sneer he so often wears, a disastrous characteristic for a chancellor from a privileged background presiding over the toughest economic era of modern times